CHL Adds the 3rd Jersey

Retailers across Canada are reporting that the CHL junior leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL) will all be adding third jerseys for the 2010-11 season. Yes, this comes just one year after all 60 teams got brand new Reebok Edge jerseys in the first place.

Tracking all 60 unveilings will be an impossible task for me alone. If the minor pro leagues aren't my forte, then the Canadian junior leagues really aren't. Heck, it was easy last year. The league posted all 120 jerseys in one convenient location on their website for all to enjoy. I can only hope they'll do it again.

If they don't, I'll be counting on the best fans in the hockey blogosphere to help out. Indeed, that is you. If you see something, say something. I'll do my best to get it on the blog. Meanwhile, there are five teams that have either unveiled a third jersey recently or are about to. I'm going to try and speed through them — in no particular order. (And I'll do my best to credit the tipsters.)

Attack unveil throwback jerseyFollowing up on an earlier report, the OHL's Owen Sound Attack unveiled their Owen Sound Mercury's throwbacks.

The new sweaters were revealed on Aug. 18 and the following is from the official release on the team's website:

Attack captain Garrett Wilson was on hand to introduce the Attack’s new third jersey for the upcoming season.

The Mercury’s jersey will be worn for every Wednesday night home game for the 2010-11 season, along with other specified dates throughout the year, including the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 25 vs. the Guelph Storm.

The Mercury’s operated from 1947-1957, winning the Canadian Sr. Men’s Hockey Championship (The Allan Cup) in 1950-51 and produced many players who either had strong local ties at that time or created those ties while playing here in Owen Sound. Many of the Attack’s year end awards are named after past Mercury players and still presented by their family members.

A cool, retro look. Hard to find any faults. Thanks to Blair W. for the tip.

Pats unveil vintage jerseyOn the same day, the WHL's Regina Pats unveiled their throwback thirds for the 2010-11 season.

Garrett Mitchell and Jordan Weal sported the new threads at the team's press conference. The vintage look is pulled all the way from 1925. Here are some details from the release:

With over 90 years of history, there are many different jerseys the Pats could have picked from. The selected uniform is from the 1924-25 and 1925-26 seasons with the Pats winning the Memorial Cup in this jersey in 1925.

The jersey is cream coloured with the traditional red and royal blue piping. There are specially designed letters that spells “PATS” on the front between the horizontal red piping through the middle of the jersey. The current Pats logo will be on the shoulders. The socks are also cream coloured with red piping and will be worn with blue pants and either the red or blue helmets.

There are more pictures on the Pats' website, including some old photos of the 1925 team — I guess as proof they weren't just making this design up. A bit plain, but it's hard to go wrong with a retro third. Kudos to Kev S. on this one.

Raiders reveal third jerseySticking with the WHL, the Prince Albert Raiders were the third CHL team to unveil a third jersey last Wednesday.

They are celebrating their 40th anniversary this season with a special new sweater, though according to their website, it doesn't appear to be getting much use. 

Highlights of this season’s birthday bash include Dec. 11 and Feb. 18 home games against the Everett Silvertips and Moose Jaw Warriors, respectively. On both nights, the Raiders will wear specialty jerseys. The Dec. 11 birthday tilt will be one night prior to the anniversary of the Raiders’ first game, a 9-2 win over the Regina Pat Blues on Dec. 12, 1971.

That's literally all they say about the jersey. There's barely a picture of it. The photo above comes by way of John MacNeil of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. That's Raiders marketing director Bruce Vance showing off the sweater.

And for the record, the Daily Herald says the Raiders will first wear this jersey on Oct. 22 against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Raiders' website says nothing about that. My thanks to Brad D.

Wildcats unveil third jerseyThe QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats will be celebrating 15 years with a brand new third jersey for the 2010-11 season.

A brief posting on the club's website features a photo and explains the jerseys were unveiled Aug. 13. There's really nothing beyond that:

The 2010-11 season marks the 15th anniversary for the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and in honor of this anniversary the Moncton Wildcats unveil their new jersey today.

Actually, I think this one is my favorite of the bunch — if only for the logo on the front. In terms of overall sweater design, I'd probably pick Owen Sound.

Rebels unveiling third soonThe WHL's Red Deer Rebels also have a third jersey on the radar.

The splash graphic on their website promotes the unveiling of an alternate sweater as an upcoming event. However, as you can see, it's not entirely clear whether it will happen when training camp opens next week or some other unspecified time.

The divider between the training camp and third jersey lines is what makes me question this. But we'll keep an eye on it and I'm sure Scott B. will email in again when the sweater is unveiled.

Falcons Saga Isn't Over Yet

Many were outraged by the blatant logo theft by a certain NAHL team last month. Now, the story gets even more pathetic as they throw everything at the wall to see what sticks.

NAHL's Port Huron Fighting Falcons 2010-11 identity package

On Friday, the NAHL's Port Huron Fighting Falcons officially unveiled not one, not two... but three new logos. And the worst part, is that the primary mark is the same one — with more minor alterations — that got them in trouble in the first place.

Nothing has ever really made sense about this team's branding decisions.Times Herald beat writer Paul Costanzo has been covering the team throughout Falconsgate. He says the logo above labeled "road crest" has been designated by the club as the official primary logo. The secondary logo, which presently appears on the team's website, will be worn on the home jersey.

The logo posted on Icethetics last week will more fittingly be a shoulder patch on both sweaters. By the way, not to add to the confusion, but the NAHL's website has it flipped, saying the home crest is the primary mark. And it would be odd if the home sweater gets the secondary logo. But nothing has ever really made sense about this team's branding decisions.

Which brings me to my next point: Who thought these three logos made for a single cohesive identity? Holy mismatch, Batman! They all use the same colors, mercifully, but not in the same manner. Only the home crest and shoulder patch appear to be in the same neighborhood, and you'll find out why in the next paragraph.

Having said my peace, I do like the new home crest. It is very much a solid minor league logo. In fact, I learned tonight that it was created by an Icethetics concept artist. Chad Stilson, who is also active in Icethetics contests, was hired by the Falcons to create the home crest and shoulder patch. You can see his full identity package here. (For the record, he says the team hired someone else to rework Mike Ivall's logo again.)

My thanks to Mike B. for keeping on top of this epic saga and introducing the term Falconsgate into the Icethetics lexicon.

By the way, this week's minor league wrap-up continues below, so keep reading.

Admirals go black on the road

Milwaukee Admirals unveil road jerseyThe AHL's Milwaukee Admirals unveiled a brand new road sweater on Thursday.

The Ads will wear the black jersey to the right for away games starting in the fall as they retire the grey one which has been in use for the past four seasons. Here's an excerpt from the release posted on the team's website:

The new jersey features the traditional Admirals colors (white, black, and ice blue) with black being the most prominent. Just like the home white jerseys, an Admiral skull adorns the chest, while blue accents run down the sides and also on the sleeves. The name and numbers on the backs of the jersey are white with a blue outline.

“We are excited to unveil this new look for Admirals hockey for the 2010-11 season,” said Greenberg. “The new black jerseys represent the toughness and ‘Never Say Die’ attitude by which our team plays and we look forward to playing in them for our 10th season in the American Hockey League.”

In case you don't have instant recall of the old gray sweater, all they did was fill in the gray parts with black and add a blue outline to the crest. The striping remains the same.

Kudos to C.J. for the heads-up on this one!

Chilliwack finally adds third jersey

Chilliwack unveils third jerseyThe WHL's Chilliwack Bruins unveiled their first-ever third jersey on Tuesday.

The maroon sweater will make its debut in October, according to the team. It will mark the club's 5th anniversary in the WHL. Additional details in this block quote:

For the first time in franchise history, the Bruins will wear a third jersey. The jerseys will debut on October 2nd versus the Kamloops Blazers as part of the Bruins First Nations Night. The jerseys worn that night will be auctioned off during the game and winning bidders will receive their jersey immediately following the game.

In other words, the Bruins like their new alternate jersey so much, they're giving them away as soon as the game is over. No, but seriously, if you're a Chilliwack fan, get one!

The Canadian junior clubs tend to be pretty good about designing awesome uniforms. It's those shady Americans you have to watch out for.

Thanks to Matt M. for the tip!

When Third Jerseys Attack!

Lastly, the OHL's Owen Sound Attack will also debut their first-ever third jersey this fall. The announcement, made on July 22, says the jerseys will be unveiled in "mid August."

Owen Sound Mercurys, 1951The alternate sweater will pay tribute to area's original hockey team, the Owen Sound Mercurys, which played from 1947 to 1957. They wore blue and orange, in contrast to the Attack's red and gold.

This team photo of the 1951 Allan Cup champion Mercurys (right) was the best image I could find on short notice depicting the historic uniforms the Attack will replicate this season.

The PR director had this to say on the team's website:

“Reebok has done an exceptional job in making this come to life”, says Brent Fisher, Director of Marketing and Public Relations.

“The jersey is an exact replica right down to the heavy stitching and felt crest and they have matched the pants and gloves perfectly. I wasn’t around during that time, but hopefully those who were or had relatives play on the team will be proud to see the uniform again. I hope it means something to them.”

“This is the first time the Attack have worn a third jersey and I know many of the fans and also the players are very excited about it. We can’t wait for the guys to hit the ice on September 25th,” said Fisher.

The jerseys will be worn for every Wednesday night home game throughout the season, plus the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 25. Replicas will be sold in the team store and game-worn sweaters will be auctioned off throughout the season.

Thanks to C. McPhee for the link!

All The News is Black & Gold

The only news around the NHL these days centers around one Stanley Cup. So that combined with my need for a break from the computer this past week means this is the first new blog post in nine days. Sorry about that. To try and dig up something worth posting, I look to my inbox.

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New third jersey for Sarnia?The OHL's priority draft was held April 30 and the Sarnia Sting gave a brand new jersey to the kid selected first overall, according to several readers.

Currently, the Sting wear a black jersey and a white one, each with that giant bee found in the primary logo. The jersey given to Alex Galchenyuk at the draft announcement was black but read SARNIA across the front arched above the No. 1, a la the Dallas Stars.

It's a terrible look. Logos belong on the front of hockey jerseys, not block letters. But what do I know about Canadian junior hockey anyway?

Many have surmised it's a third jersey which will first hit the ice next fall, though this article doesn't even mention it. In the meantime, if you've come across any information that would shed light on this subject, I'd be happy to update the Icethetics faithful.

But we've got more from another black and gold Canadian Hockey League team.

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Wheat Kings wear special sweaterThe WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings donned a special commemorative sweater for the opening game of the Memorial Cup on Friday.

The jerseys will now be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund, to support veterans and their families. Bidding is open through May 25.

The opening game jerseys were designed by the CHL in conjunction with the Brandon Wheat Kings in honour of the Canadian Army, specifically the men and women past, present, and future of CFB Shilo. CFB Shilo is Manitoba’s only army base and is located approximately 20 minutes from the Keystone Centre.

For the record, the Wheaties (as I guess they're called) suffered a 9-3 blowout at the hands of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires while wearing the jersey. They'll use their regular sweaters for the rest of the CHL tournament.

Thanks to those of you who sent in links on this topic.

Looks like we just cannot escape the black and gold tonight.

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Germany gets it on in goldAs host of the 2010 IIHF World Championships, Team Germany pulled out a special gold sweater to open the tournament May 7.

They defeated Team USA 2-1 before a record home crowd of almost 80,000 inside a frozen soccer stadium. The jersey is quite refreshing when compared with the black and whites they usually wear — and will continue to wear throughout the tourney.

Maybe the goal was to help the team keep its eye on the prize from the beginning — gold all the way! You can see more pictures of this jersey in action in the IIHF photo gallery. That website also has images of every participating team's jersey.

I haven't been keeping an eye on the Worlds, by the way. How's it all going? All I know is they were worried Steven Stamkos was going to be sidelined with a concussion.

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Antti Niemi as a PelicanJust one more item on the agenda and it's not black or gold. It's blue!

During this afternoon's NBC telecast of the Sharks-Blackhawks Game 1, PxP man Mike Emrick mentioned the name of Antti Niemi's team back in Finland — the Lahden Pelicans.

He then wondered aloud what those jerseys would've looked like. In case you were wondering too, that's a picture (right) of Niemi in his Pelicans garb.

That logo only looks the slightest bit ridiculous, right? No, let's not kid ourselves, it's full-on ridiculous. Pelicans, haha!

GO SHARKS!

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All right, now the real reason I've been taking it easy with the website this week. If you don't see or hear from me after May 23, it's probably not because I'm dead. It's probably Super Mario Galaxy 2, which comes out in a week and could develop into a minor obsession.

I don't consider myself a "gamer" in the least, but when it comes to that little red-suited plumber, what can I say? I enjoyed the first game and have been looking forward to the sequel. Anybody else enjoy a little Mario action or are you guys just strictly hockey here?

Minor League Report, Part II

As a continuation of yesterday's post, a couple of minor league hockey fans have written in with jersey news to share.

Guillaume Desbiens #41The Manitoba Moose celebrated Hockey Night in Manitoba last night, paying tribute to minor league and youth hockey across the province.

Part of the promotion includes the Moose wearing the sweater of the Community Jersey Program winner for the game. In this case it was the East St. Paul Aces (photo, right) — from the East St. Paul Community Centre.

The Moose have more photos from last night's game up on their website if you're interested. They lost 2-1 to the Toronto Marlies.

By the way, it's all happening again next year, so if you're involved with a Manitoba hockey organization, and you want to see the Moose wear your jersey, get the details here.

Thanks to Trevor for the heads up.

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Daniel also writes in regarding his Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League. They've got a couple of specialty jerseys on tap, including one tonight.

Mudbugs Mardi Gras jerseyTo celebrate Mardi Gras, the Mudbugs are wearing specially-designed (and rather tacky, I have to say) sweaters this afternoon against the Corpus Christi Ice Rays.

Believe me, I will post game action photos as soon as I can find them.

The Mudbugs say they will be auctioning off the jerseys over the next week but it isn't clear where the money will go.

Mudbugs Pink in the Rink weekendBut wait, there's more from the Mudbugs. Their Pink in the Rink event takes place next weekend, on February 19 and 20. And they're not just auctioning jerseys, according to their website.

Other items to be auctioned off during the weekend include: team captain Brett Smith’s pink helmet (to be worn during pre-game warm-ups), various autographed pink Mudbugs hockey sticks, a pink referee’s jersey which will be worn by the official and even the pink tie that Head Coach Scott Muscutt will wear behind the bench during the weekend.

Yes, a guy's pink helmet and a pink ref's jersey are actually on the auction block. Don't everybody bid all at once now. Some of the proceeds from the auction will benefit Komen for the Cure of Northwest Louisiana. Not sure where the rest are going.

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London Knights don blueAnd we finish with a follow-up to a recent post about the OHL's London Knights' plan to go blue for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Ryan sent in this photo (right) from the Knights' website taken last weekend. The Knights beat the Brampton Battalion 4-1 while wearing the blue.

Next weekend, I'll be keeping an eye out for photos from the Mudbugs' and ECHL Florida Everblades' Pink in the Rink events. I actually plan on going to the Blades game so I may have some photos of my own to share.

The Minor League Report

It's been a busy week for me outside of Icethetics. So I have a bunch of minor league jersey news to get through this afternoon.

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Checkers and Canes join forcesOn Wednesday, it was officially announced that the AHL's Albany River Rats will be moving to North Carolina this fall, at the urging of their NHL affiliate, Carolina Hurricanes.

The club has been sold to Michael Kahn, owner of the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. The River Rats will begin play in 2010-11 in Charlotte under the Checkers name, competing in the American Hockey League.

It's not clear what will happen to the ECHL franchise and its players. Capital District Sports CEO Garen Szablewski is efforting a team back to Albany for 2010 — hoping for an AHL franchise, using the River Rats name. I don't know the odds of that happening but it does appear there will be a couple dozen ECHLers without a team to play for when all this goes through.

Why is this Icethetics news? It will mean a new logo and jerseys in the AHL. No word yet on whether they're keeping the ECHL look, but it's a good one so they probably will.

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Glads dress as Knights on pink iceSpeaking of the Checkers, they're playing the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators this weekend, who are knocking out two promotions at once.

It's Pink in the Rink Weekend, where the ice has gotten a nice cotton candy-colored coating. And they're celebrating minor league hockey history in Georgia's capital by wearing black and powder blue throwback jerseys in honor of the old Atlanta Knights of the IHL.

Gladiators' Knights throwback jerseyAs you can see here, they've kept the logo pretty much the same, changing only the team name, obviously. If you want to see more pictures of this one-time jersey, check out the Gladiators on Facebook.

And for the record, the Knights hold a special place in my heart as they were the original minor league affiliate of my Tampa Bay Lightning. That team saw the likes of ex-Bolts such as Cory Cross, Stan Drulia, Shawn Chambers, Roman Hamrlik, and even Brent Gretzky.

They went to the playoffs all four years they spent in Atlanta and even won the Turner Cup as league champions in their second season of existence. Why that couldn't translate to wins for the big club is beyond me. But they moved to Quebec to become the Rafales in 1996 and folded after two seasons.

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I promise to be less verbose for these last two items.

Rebels specialty jerseyThe WHL's Red Deer Rebels will be wearing specially-designed jerseys on Friday, February 19 for Jerseys Off Our Backs Night.

You can see it modeled here in the photo (right) by the Rebels captain Colin Archer.

The proceeds from the jersey auction will benefit Ronald McDonald House Central Alberta. If you want to watch a brief video about the event, the Red Deer Advocate has you covered.

Fans will be able to bid on jerseys throughout the game. Winners will be led down to center ice to claim their sweaty prize following the game.

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And finally, the OHL's Sudbury Wolves held their Pink in the Rink event this week with great success. They raised over $30,000 for the Janis Foligno Foundation and breast cancer research.

The Wolves' web site claims this is a photo gallery, but I can't seem to make it work. If anyone else has any luck, let me know. In the meantime, there's this.